Schoolchildren join hands for social inclusion of disabled persons

Vadodara: A group of school students in the city has come together for social inclusion of disabled persons in the society during the upcoming Vadodara Marathon.
The group of 20 students, who are already running a social media website – ‘Divyang Dost’ – for disabled persons, will organize drum circle for able and disabled persons during the ‘Divyang Run’ of the marathon. Around 500 volunteers will be selected for the drum circle event. A drum circle is a group of people playing hand drums and percussions in a circle.

“Around 250 pairs of a ‘divyang’ person and an able person who will be the ‘divyang dost’ will sit together to perform the event. The idea is to develop bond, friendship and equality through music,” said Naman Parikh, one of the members of the group.

The group has roped in a company from Pune to train the participants for the event. “We will provide the instruments to the participants which will be given to them as a gift at the end of the event,” said Parikh. The students have relied on crowdfunding to gather money for the instruments and logistics for participants.

Parikh added that the aim is to raise Rs 7.5 lakh and within first two days they have already raised Rs 50,000. “We want more people to come forward and donate the money on our divyang dost website,” he added.

The group is also planning a similar event early next year in Ahmedabad with an aim to use music to promote social inclusion.